Articles

A church-and-school campus in New Orleans that never reopened after Hurricane Katrina is now home to the Southern Rep Theatre, a school and a co-working space, thanks to equity from historic tax credits (HTCs) and new markets tax credits (NMTCs).

The Housing Authority of the City of Passaic, N.J., was among the first housing authorities to use the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program to revitalize three of its former public housing developments.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program creates another type of affordable housing in which to invest–and investors like RAD, even though there have been hurdles.

Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as mandated by the duty to serve (DTS) provisions implemented by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008, recently released proposals to implement modifications to their DTS plans.

News Briefs

The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund announced Nov. 6 the opening of the fiscal year 2019 application period for the CDFI Bond Guarantee program. The CDFI Bond Guarantee Program provides long-term, low-cost capital for economic growth in low-income communities. As much as $500 million in bond guarantee is available to eligible CDFIs in 2019, pending Congressional authorization. CDFI certification applications were due through the Awards Management Information System (AMIS) by Dec. 3, 2018, qualified issuer applications are due by Feb. 19 at 11:59 p.m. EST and guarantee applications are due Feb. 26 by 11:59 p.m. EST.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) made a statement Nov. 7 on the 2018 midterm election results. Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO, said in a press release that this election proved that voters and elected officials of both parties recognize the tremendous benefits that solar brings to the economy, environment and the reliability of the grid. She added that voters want the government to do more to grow solar energy in the U.S., and that SEIA looks forward to working with all of the new and returning governors and members of Congress on policies that will expand solar markets, grow jobs and make solar’s economic benefits available to more consumers and businesses.

MacRostie Historic Advisors (MHA) announced Nov. 20 the recent appointment of Albert Rex as MHA’s first chief executive officer. Rex became a partner in the firm in 2014 and has been with the company since 2004. Rex will lead the firm’s administrative team, overseeing companywide planning and execution of business objectives and daily operations. He will remain in Boston, expanding the MHA team’s business development activities throughout the Northeast and client access to expertise on maximizing historic tax credit (HTC) equity financing. In addition, Kim Smith Barnett joined MHA as director of the Boston office. Most recently, she worked at the Providence Revolving Fund both as a historic consultant as well as a lender and equity partner in historic property developments.

The Annual Homeless Assessment Report, released Nov. 1 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), states that veteran homelessness in the U.S. continues to decline. Results show that the number of homeless vets drops 5.4 percent since 2017 and by nearly half since 2010. The 2018 estimate finds 37,878 veterans experienced homelessness in January 2018, compared to 40,020 reported in January 2017. HUD estimates among the total number of reported veterans experiencing homelessness in 2018, 23,312 veterans were found in sheltered settings, while volunteers counted 14,566 veterans living in places not meant for human habitation. HUD also reports a nearly 10 percent decline among female veterans experiencing homelessness. In January 2018, local communities reported 3,219 homeless female veterans compared to 3,571 one year earlier. HUD attributes the decrease in veteran homelessness can largely be attributed to the effectiveness of the HUD-VA Supportive Housing program.

New Hampshire Housing issued a memorandum Nov. 14 reminding owners and management agents of low-income housing tax credit properties that the annual certifications of compliance with the regulatory agreement, as well as tax-exempt bond annual certifications of compliance, if applicable, must be emailed to the [email protected] mailbox. The HOME monitoring compliance report must now be faxed to (603) 488-0978. The annual certifications are due 30 days following the close of the property’s fiscal year-end, and HOME monitoring compliance reports are due by Feb. 1 each year.